De Lier, The Netherlands
May 19, 2023
At last week’s Global Tomato Congress in Rotterdam, vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan presented its solution to the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV). The annual Global Tomato Congress brings together leading professionals from around the world to discuss the latest developments in the tomato industry.
Rugose Defense: tomato varieties with high resistance against ToBRFV
Rick van Meurs, Project Leader Tomato at Rijk Zwaan, was among the experts who took the stage at the congress. He explained how Rugose Defense varieties, Rijk Zwaan’s solution to ToBRFV, is already being used in practice by leading tomato growers worldwide. One of them – Austrian tomato grower Christian Zeiler – shared his positive experiences with Rijk Zwaan’s premium Rugose Defense cherry tomato variety, Hyrule RZ.
Effective resistance
“The high level of resistance against ToBRFV is an absolute game changer,” said Christian Zeiler. “We are very satisfied with the results and the agronomical performance of Hyrule. We encountered no virus symptoms, and the cherry tomatoes are as tasty as we expected with a good shelf life. Moreover, this variety is suitable both for loose and truss harvest.”
“I truly believe that this is a new era for tomato growers. All non-resistant varieties will be replaced by high-resistant varieties. I thank the breeders for their great achievements so far,” he added.
Rijk Zwaan is grateful for the recognition resulting from its collaboration with Zeiler. This provides extra motivation to everyone involved, encouraging them to continue introducing the solution in all the company’s tomato breeding programmes worldwide. For more information about Rijk Zwaan’s resistant tomato varieties based on this innovative solution to ToBRFV, please visit our Rugose Defense page.
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